Ball-throwing machine



B. w. MOSER BALL-THROWING MACHINE Dec. 23, 1941.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed, NOV. 21, 1938 INVENTOR MOSE'R BYRON W.

ATTORNEY Dec. 23, 1941. O E 2,267,162

BALLQTHROWINGV MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYRON W.MOSER B jm ATTORNEY Dec.23',1941. fB.- W.MQSER 2,261,162

BALL-THROWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1958 3 Sheebs-Shee't 3 FIG IO,

BYRON W. MOSER ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UlTED STATES ere T FFEEtion of Missouri Application November 21, 1938, Serial No. 241,533 2Claims. (Cl. 124,-17)

My invention relates to a ball-throwing machine, and has for itsprincipal object to produce a mechanism that will throw a ball atfapredetermined speed, which speed can be regulated by the operation ofthe apparatus, and at such height and in such horizontal direction asmay be desired and operable-to accomplish such results at the will ofthe operator, who only has to make certain simple manipulations toaccomplish the desired adjustment. Another object is to provide elasticmeans which are subject-to a straight pulling strain, without anybending strain incident to the throwin action; that is to say, the pullupon the elastic means in order to store up the propulsive power and therapid contracting of such means is in a substantially straight,horizontal line, without any curves or bending distortions. By thismeans I increase very considerably the life andactivity of my elasticmeans. Another object is to provide a device in which the ball magazineremains in the same plane, even when the device is tilted toelevate theforward end to an acut angle. 'I .he balls are always fed from amagazinewhich utilizes gravity to cause said balls'to dischargefrom saidmagazine down the ball-receiving member tothe throwing mechanismof mydevice. Another object is to cushion the impact; of the throwinmechanism,b11t not until, the ball has been projected forwardly by thethrowing mechanism at the maximum rate of speed attained by suchthrowing mechanism; that is to say, almost instantaneously with thedischarge of the ball from the throwing mechanism, I cushion the shockof the forwardly moving throwing mechanism so as to avoid possibleharmtothe device. Still another object is to provide shiftable means forcontact with the propelled ballat one .side or the other, or at thebottom .ofthelball as it is ejected from my deviceinorder to impart aright or left curve to said ball, or a drop, which is induced by a .spingiven such ball as it is forcefully propelled from my device. By my.arrangementI mechanically impart to the forwardly moving ballsubstantially the same kind of twist, or spin, imparted toit by a humanbeing pitching such a ball and throwing an ins'hoot, an outshoot, or adrop. This is highly advantageous in a ball-throwing machine, as itmakes it much more difiicult for a batterto strike the pitched ball. Astill further object'is toprovide for the accurate delivery of only oneball at the time to the throwing mechanism. A stillfurther object is toprovide an electric motor for operatfunctioning of the throwingmechanism and the ball delivery mechanism, so that-only a single ball isdelivered to said throwing mechanism from the ball magazine. A finalobject is to secure a delivery rack for the balls with a spiral, elasticguard surrounding said rack and said balls to prevent the balls frombeing displaced from said rack except at the point where said ballsenter the throwing mechanism, said spiral guard being subject tocontractingand expanding'when the device'is tilted upwardly ordownwardly.

By my construction I have produced a rugged piece of mechanism, which isrelatively simple and highly, efficient in operation, and which issubstantial and durable. Fig- 1 is a side elevation of my improvedballthrowing device. Fig. 2 is aplan .view of the ball magazine.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section-taken on line 3+3, Fig.1. j Y

Fig.4 is an end elevation of my improved ballthrowing device.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, longitudinal section taken on line 5'-'5,,Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken on line 66, Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 1-1, Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the securing means forthe elastic throwing elements.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the ball delivery means, showing parts inball-feeding position.

Fig. 10 is a plan view, partly in section, of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the ball-delivery means showin partsreturned to normal.

Fig.12 is a plan view of Fig. 11. Fig. 13 isa partial side elevation ofthe releasing mechanism.

Fig. 14 is a cross-section taken on line I l-44, Fig. 9.

Fig. 15 is a cross-section taken on line l5-l5, Fig. 5.

' As illustrated. in the drawings, I provide a base preferably a tripod,which 'may be secured to the ground or any other support 2| by bolts 22.At the top of the tripod 20 is a circular member 23, which extendsdownwardly as at .23, between the three legs of the tripod. A look inglatch 24 is carriedby said tripod 20. A screw wheel 25 is rotatablymounted on the member 23. The wheel 25ha's a downwardly projectingciring the device and to effectuate automatically the 'cular sleeve 26,internally threaded, and with an out-turned flange 21 at the lowerportion of said sleeve 26, by which it is rotatably secured to thecircular member 23 by the disk 28. A threaded post 29 is verticallymovable in the circular member 23 and its downwardly projectingextension 23. By this means I can elevate or lower the throwingmechanism, as well as rotate said mechanism horizontally. The latch 24is coneshaped, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to impinge against the post 29and lock it against undesirable movement. At the upper end of the post29 I provide a disk-shaped cap 30 for the support of the principaloperating portions of my ballthrowing mechanism.

A housing 3| is supported upon the cap 36, and appropriately securedthereto, and a rotatable rod 32 is journaled in said housing 3|, ahandle 33 being secured to the free end of said rod 32 for rotating saidrod. Near the inner end of the rod 32 is a worm 34 on said rod, whichmeshes with a gear sector 35 carried by a plate 36. The walls of thehousing 3| are bound together by a bolt or rivet 3| passing through theupper corner section of the same. The purpose of the worm 34 and thegear sector 35 is to change the vertical inclination of the forward endof my ball-throwing mechanism.

A larger housing 31 is mounted upon the plate 36 and secured thereto inany appropriate manner. On the lower wall 31' of the housing 31 are twofiat bars 38, which preferably are seated in a recess 39 in said wall31. The bars 38 project forwardly beyond the end of the housing 31 toserve as a support for elements hereinafter to be described. A motor 36is mounted upon a plate 4| by bolts 42. A gear reduction drive is in thehousing 43. The motor and gear reduction drive are standard devices andno further description of them is deemed necessary. The plate 4| ismounted upon the plate 36 and is appropriately secured thereto. Thehousing 31 is carried upon and appropriately secured to said plate 4|.

A sprocket wheel 44 is mounted on a shaft 45 extending from the gearreduction drive 43, the outer end of said shaft 45 being .journaled at46 on one of the side Walls of the housing 31. Another sprocket wheel 41is mounted loosely near the forward end of the housing 31 on the shaft48, which shaft is appropriately journaled within said housing. A linkchain belt 49 passes over the sprocket wheels 44 and 41, being driven bythe sprocket wheel 44. To the belt 49 is secured a bar 56 which islonger than the width of the chain 49 for a purpose to be hereinafterdescribed. Ther may be more than one bar 56 secured at appropriateintervals to the chain 43, depending on the number of throwingoperations desired during the movement of said chain.

Secured to the base of the housing 3! is a standard which supports atits upper end a ball magazine 52 provided with a lower section 53adapted to receive the end of a chute 54.' The said chute 54 issemi-circular in cross-section, with the end 55 tapered as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The chute 54 receives the balls from the ball reservoir52. A member 56 extends forwardly and downwardly from the lower section63 and serves to support the chute 54 and an encircling elastic wireguard 51, which guard prevents the balls from being displaced from thechute 54. As will be noted in Fig. 1, the ends of the wire guard 51 abutagainst the inner edge of the section 53 and a shoulder 58 on theforward, lower end of the chute 54, which lower end is circular incross-section as shown at 59 in Figs. 1 and 5, the diameter of theenclosed end being suflicient to allow the balls 60 to pass freelytherethrough. When the machine is tilted upwardly or downwardly by meansof the handle 33, worm 34, and gear section 35, the chute 54 slidesupwardly or downwardly as the case may be, the end 55 moving in thesection 53, and the wire guard 51 expands or contracts at the same time.The forward end 59 of the chute 54 is held by the housing 31.

In the housing 31 is mounted a bar 5| which is supported at its forwardend by a split bearing 62 held together by a bolt 63. The bearing 62 isa part of a member 64 which is clamped onto the bars 38 near the forwardends by means of the bolts 65. This permits longitudinal adjustment ofsaid member 64 when necessary. Slidable on the bar 6| is a carriage 65which is preferably sectional and secured together by bolts or rivets 61and 68, carrying rollers 61' and 68', near one end thereof, one of saidrivets 68 serving as a pivot pin for a trigger 69, which is inclinedtoward the end 16, the other end 1| serving as an abutment against whichthe bar 56, carried by the chain or belt 49, is adapted to contact forthe purpose of moving said carriage 66 rearwardly. A coil spring 12 isfastened in the larger end of the trigger 69, the upper end of saidspring 12 resting against the bottom surface of the carriage 66 (Fig. 5)The purpose of the spring 12 is to tend to restore the trigger 69. afterit has been tripped as hereinafter described, so that said trigger maybe again engaged by the bar 56. Openings 13 are formed in each side wallof the carriage 66 (only one being shown in the drawings), through whichopening passes a rod 14 which limits the downward movement of the innerend of the trigger 69. There are two triggers 69 exactly alike, one oneach side of the carriage 66, and these two triggers are connectedtogether by the rod 14. At the forward end of the carriage 66 areremovably secured strong, rubber members 15 of oval shape, as showninFig. 6, one on each side of the carriage 66. The ends of these rubbermembers 15 arepreferaoly thickened, as shown at 15, and said ends arepreferably reinforced with some stiffening and strengthening material,such as fabric. The ends fastened to the carriage 66 are secured inrecesses 16 by the rounded ends 11 on the rubber members 15 slipped intothe enlarged ends 18 on the carriage 66 (see Fig. 8). These ends of therubber members 15 are then secured in place by caps 19 fastened ontoends 18 by screws 86. The forward ends of the rubber members 15 areshaped similarly to the opposite ends of said members secured to thecarriage 66, and such forward ends caught by the hookshaped portion 8|,into which said forward ends are slipped and fastened in place by thecaps 62 held byscrews 83 passing into the portion 8|, which portion ispreferably an integral part of the member 6 Thus the rubber members 15are securely held in place and are readily removable and replaceable.Also at the upper, forward portion of the carriage 66 is mounted aball-receiving member 84 into which a ball 66 is adapted to drop fromthe end 59 of the ball chute 54. This member 84 has a forwardlyextending, semi-circular trough 85 and a rear hood 86 appropriatelycurved as shown, into which the ball 66 may move when the carriage 66 israpidly projected forwardly by the rubber member 15 when such carriagehas been carried rearwardly by the bar 59 on the belt 49 and the trigger69 tripped by the tripping block 81, adjust-- ably positioned on the bar6! by the bolt '88, when the inclined end I9 of the trigger 69 passesbeneath the roller 89 positioned near the bottom of the block 87. Thepower stored up in the rubber members I is very considerable when theyare stretched, and the sudden releasing of the carriage when the trigger69 is tripped by the roller 88 on the block 81 propels said carriageforwardly with considerable speed, the ball 60 resting against the innercurved hood 86 until the carriage 66 reaches its extreme forwardposition when said carriage is suddenly checked, sending theball'rapidly forward under the speed imparted to it through thecontracting of the stretched rubber members 75. In order to impart acurve tothe outwardly projected ball 69 I provide a frictional device 99which may be positioned at some appropriate point in the trough 85, asshown in Fig. 15. This frictional device 89 is placed in the bottom ofthe trough 85, and tends, as the ball 69 passes over said device 89, toimpart a rolling spin or twist to said ball in order to cause said ballto dropabout the time it reaches the batter. In Fig. I have shown twoother recesses 99 and 9! with perforations 99 and SI extending throughthe wall of the trough 85 through which passes the bolt 92 attached tothe frictional device 89 and secured by a nut 93 on the outer end of thebolt 92. Thus, when the frictional device 89 is to be moved from thebottom of the trough 85 to either side thereof in order to supply therequisite right or left hand twist or spin to the ball 99 .to cause itto make an inshoot or an outshoot before reaching the batter whenprojected toward him, I remove the nut 93 from the bolt 92 and slip saidbolt through either perforation 99 or 9I', as the case may be, andsecure the frictional device 89 in the recess 99 or 9!, as the case maybe. It will be understood that I only employ one frictional device 89 toimpart only one definite twist or spin to the ball 69. I may provide anopening 64 in the rear wall of the hood 86 to permit the free escape ofair which might be entrapped when the ball 69 enters said hood 86.

I will now describe the mechanism by which the balls 69 are delivered tothe trough 95 and hood 96 of the ball-receiving member 89 from the chute54. The balls 69 slide down the chute 54 into the enclosed, circular,lower end 59 where the lowermost ball rests against a trap-door 94,which is normally closed as shown in Fig. 11. The carriage 66 movesrearwardly by reason of the bar 59 on the chain belt 49 striking thetrigger 69 on the lower rear corner of the said carriage 66 (when thebelt 59 is operated by the motor 49), and the carriage and bar moverearwardly together. The extension 59' on the bar 59, when it travelsrearwardly a sufiicient distance. strikes against a bar 95 at thedownward end thereof, and moves the lower end of said bar 95 rearwardly.The bar 95 is pivoted at 96 to the housing 31. This causes the upper endof the bar 95 to move forwardly. A link 91' is pivoted at 98 to the bar95 and to a second link 99, which link 99 is pivoted at I99 to thehousing 37. The trap-door 94 is loosely mounted on the pivot pin I99 androtates with the hub I9I, of which the trap-door 94 may be an integralpart. As the link 91 moves forwardly when propelled by the bar 95, itrocks the link 99 about its pivot I98, thus moving the lower end of saidlink 99 forwardly and rotating the hub IIII about said pivotIIIIlandcausing the trap-door 94 to 54 into the trough on the carriage 66, as

illustrated in Fig. 9. The carriage 66 has'been carried rearwardly bythebar 59, on the belt 49, contacting with th trigger 69 on said carriage66, a sufficient distance so that the ball 69 dropping through the opentrap-door 94 'does not strike the rear hood 86 of the ball-receivingmember 84, but just clears the same, as is clearly illustrated in Fig.9. It will be understood that the'speed of travel of the belt 49 isrelatively slow. When the bar 59 has reached the position shown in Fig.91 in its rearward travel, the said bar passes beneath the-end of thebar 95. The bar remains in-the position shown in Fig. 9 until the bar 59on the 'belt 49 has traveled rearwardly s'ufiicien'tlyto contact withthe lower end of another bar I92, which is pivoted at I93 to the housing31. The upper end of the bar I92 is pivoted at I94 to a curved link I95,the forward end'of which link is pivoted at I95 to the upper end 'of thelink 99. As the bar 56 con tinues its travel rearwardly with the movingbelt 49, it propels the lower end of the bar I92 rearwardly and movesthe upper end of said bar forwardly, as'shown in Fig. 11, thus movingforwardly the'curved link I95 and the upper end of link 99, and therebyrestoring the trap-door 94 to its closedposition, as shown in Fig. 11. Amember I96 is slotted as at I9! so as to permit a rod I98 to passthrough such slot, said rod I96 being mounted in the housing 37. Theforward end of the member I 96 is pivoted as at I99 to the links 91 and99, the pivot I99 serving to secure the links 91, 99, and the member I66together. On the inner, slotted end of the member I96 is a cam portionH9. A circular cam member I is loosely mounted on the rod I 99 andpressed outwardly by a coil spring I I2, surrounding said rod I98 andabutting against one face'of the cam member III and one side of theportion 59 of the chute 54. Thus the cam member III is normallypressedoutwardly against the member I96, as shown in Fig.-l2. When the memberI96 is moved forwardly, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the cam member IIIis caused to ride up on the inclined face of the cam portion III! of themember I96 (see Fig. 10). A series of pins H3 are secured to one surfaceof the cam member III for th purpose, when the cam member III rides uponthe cam portion III! of the member I96 (as shown in Fig. 10), of causingsaid pins I I3 to pass between the ball 69 which is being deliveredthrough the trap-door 94, from the end 59 of the chute 54, and the nextsucceeding ball, thus restraining the row of balls still remaining inthe chute 54 from dropping down and clogging the mechanism. When thetrap-door 94 is returned to closed position, as shown in Fig. 12, thmechanism just described causes the cam member III to be released fromthe cam portion II 9 of the member I96, and by virtue of the expansionof the coil spring H2 said cam member III is caused to return to normalposition and the pins II3 removed from the path of downward travel ofthe balls 69.

As shown in Fig. 13, the trigger 69 is being tripped by passing underthe roller 69 on the block 81. This permits the forward movement atrelatively high velocity of the carriage 66, under the influence of thestretched rubber members 15, carrying a ball 69 in the ball-receivingmember 84. The carriage 66 moves at relatively high velocity toward theforward or delivery end of the mechanism until the forward end of saidcarriage 66 strikes against a member H4, which is slidably mounted onthe bar BI, and which member has a rubber cushion H at the inner endthereof against which the carriage 66 is adapted to strike. This causesan instantaneous stopping of the carriage 66, but permits the ball 60carried in the ball-receiving member 84 to be projected forwardly at thespeed imparted to it by the forwardly projected carriage 66. When thecarriage 65 is momentarily halted by the member I I4, said member may,after the impact of the carriage 66, travel forwardly along the bar 6Iagainst the action of plunger IIB, contained in an air cylinder II'Ipivoted at IIB to the housing 31. The plunger I16 is pivoted at II9 to alink I20, which in turn is pivoted at one end, as at I2I, to the memberIM and at the other end, as at I22, to another link I23, which ispivoted as at I24 to the housing 31 (see Fig. 5). To assist the cushionIN to absorb the impact of the carriage 65 against the member H4, Iprovide a coil spring I25 surrounding a pin I26, which is looselyjournaled as at I21 in the housing 3?. The inner end of the pin I26 ispivoted to the cushion member III as at I28. Thus, when the carriage 66strikes against the member I I4, it is momentarily halted, and then themember H4 and carriage 63 may continue to move along the bar Bl untilthe air cushion H1 and spring I25 stop the forward movement of saidparts 66 and H4, thus cushioning the impact blow of the carriage 66against the member H4.

The tripping block 81 is longitudinally adjustable along the rod GI.When it is desired to increase the tension in the rubber members I5 whenthe carriage 66, to which one end of said members are fastened, is movedrearwardly by the belt 69, the bolt 88 is loosened and the block 81 ismoved rearwardly along the bar BI, thus increasing the stretching of therubber members I5. If desired, indicia may be supplied to bar BI toindicate the speed of travel of the projected ball 60, when thrown fromthe machine. As already noted, the machine is capable of vertical d i otal ad s ment s wel t e rtical adjustment of the delivery end of saidmachine.

I claim:

1. A ball-throwing machine comprising a support a motor, a belt operableby said motor, a slidable carriage mounted on said Su port and normallyin a forward position, an abutment on said carriage, a member on saidbelt for engagement with said abutment at periodical intervals to causesaid belt and said carriage to travel toer to a p ede ermin d p n a t png m mber for engagement with the abutment releasing said carriage fromsaid belt, means associated with said carriage for returning Saidcarriage at relatively high velocity to its normal forward position whenreleased from. said belt, a ballreceiving member on said carriage, andmeans for cushioning the impact of said carriage when returned to itsnormal forward position without materially lessening the velocity of theball as it is projected from said machine.

2. A ball-throwing machine comprising a support, a motor, a link beltoperable by said motor, a bar transversely projecting from said belt, aslidable carriage mounted on said support and normally in a forwardposition, a trippable member on said carriage projecting into the pathof travel of said bar on said belt for periodical engagement betweensaid belt and said carriage to cause said belt and said carriage totravel together to a predetermined point, a slidably adjustable trippingmember for tripping said trippable member to disengage said carriagefrom said belt, means associated with said carriage for returning saidcarriage at relatively high velocity to its normal forward position whendisengaged from said belt, a ball-receiving member on said carriage, andmeans for cushioning the impact of said carriage when returned to itsnormal forward position without materially lessening the velocity of theball as it is projected from said machine, said cushioning means beingmounted in front of and on the same support as the slidable carriage.

BYRON W. MOSER.

